A Good Husband
by Maybe I'm a Kinkajou
Summary: A look into the mind of a reformed killer. Oneshot, JaffarxNino.


Thought this up just now. Took me only an hour to write, too.

First of all, I hate the Nino/Jaffar pairing. Too much cutesy-sweetness for me. However, this idea would not get out of my head until I wrote the damn thing, so I did. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own FE, but it owned me. 

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Smoking under the stars was his favorite thing nowadays.

He had taken it up for lack of anything better to do. It was one of the things he couldn't do while he was an assassin. Assassins could leave no scent or mark behind, and the scent of tobacco was strong enough for even commoners to catch. It was a guilty pleasure, one that he enjoyed very much. It allowed him to think, something else he never did much as an assassin.

Come to think of it, he had done very little besides kill without question. Why they ever called him the "Angel" of Death was beyond him. He was more like the Automaton of Death than anything. A tool, like poison.

Never again would he be like that. He made sure of it the only way he knew how. He looked at his left hand, that was once his strongest hand; it shook slightly. He had crippled it one day, and told Nino he had an accident while boning a fish. It was a lie, the last one he told himself that he would ever tell.

In fact, he had changed everything about himself when he married her. He burned his old clothes, let his hair grow, wore long shirts to cover his tattoo. He told her it was because he wanted to look more respectable; the truth was that he didn't want to be recognized by anyone. He had no need to change his name, for anyone that wanted his head would probably not know him by his right name, anyway. Jaffar... He never knew if that was his birth name, or if that was merely what Nergal had called him. But it was the only one he had, and he used it openly.

Not like they would recognize him now; his hair was bleached to the color of a carrot from working in the sun, and he wore a smile more than a frown. The killing machine was almost gone, and nothing but a happy husband and decent carpenter would remain.

So who the hell had found out? He looked at the piece of parchment in his hand, frowning as he puffed on his pipe. It was too dark to read what it said, but he had read it enough to know, anyway. Threaten his wife, would they? Not while he drew breath.

He smoked until he was down to the barest of ashes, and went inside. He set his pipe on the mantle, hung his jacket on the peg by the door, poked at the fireplace to keep the fire going. A simple routine that he had developed, one that he did now out of habit. One thing was going to change about it tonight. Instead of going to bed, as usual, he lifted a loose floorboard, taking out a wooden box. He opened the lid, and shivered when he drew out the contents; two long, large red daggers. They glimmered evilly in the flickering light, sending reddish dots of light around the room, telling him that they missed him and were they going to be allowed to play again?

"Forgive me," He said quietly, taking out the sheathes and belting them around his waist. He replaced the floorboard, and started to gather everything else he would need. It was going to be a long trip, but it was necessary. Nobody threatened her life and got away with it. He would not be a killing machine, but a protective husband. Any husband would kill for his wife, right?

He flitted around the house as quietly as he could, taking with him only the barest of essentials. It wouldn't be _that_ long of a trip. Nobody could hide from him that lo---

He fell to the floor with a loud crash. Forgot to put the box back under the floorboard. He hissed out a curse as he got to his feet, and saw that a candle had been lit in the bedroom. He knew he couldn't escape what was about to come.

"What are you doing?" Nino yawned, putting on a robe.

This was going to be complicated. "Business," He said.

"What sort of business requires a backpack, enough food for a week, and daggers?"

"Serious business."

She had that look in her eye when he said that; it was a cross between skepticism and curiosity. He knew his wife too well to think that she would let him go with just that.

He was right. She went to the door and bolted it, then stood in front of it. "How serious?" She said.

He didn't know what else to say, and instead gave her the letter. She read it, her eyes going wide.

"'Turn yourself in to us, or the girl gets it?' Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I can take care of it," He said.

"Not by force! Your hand---"

"I can do anything I set my mind to," He interrupted, taking one of her hands in his. "I am going to be fine. We knew this might happen. I was stupid to think it wouldn't." He gave her a small kiss on her forehead. "I promise, I'll come home."

"Let me go with you!" She said, on the verge of tears. "I can still use a Fire tome decently. Please, I don't want you to get hurt."

"Nino, I appreciate it, but we both know that you can't come," He said, smiling. He put a hand on her swollen belly, feeling a small tap against his palm as one of their babies kicked. "Lugh and Ray need you to be safe."

"But Rose and Katie need their daddy to come home, too," She said, making him chuckle. She wanted girls, even though Lucius was still sure that they were both boys.

"I'll come home, I promise." She still looked unsure, so he added, "When have I ever broken one of my promises?"

"If you don't come home, I will find you." She slid away from the door, and he quickly unbolted it before she could change her mind. "I'll be home soon, I promise."

He didn't look back at her as he closed the door behind him. He kept his eyes glued straight ahead as he walked down the street. He couldn't bring himself to look at her again.

"I'll be home soon, I promise." Even as he said those words, he knew they were lies.

_...Forgive me, Nino. I'll do my best to keep that promise to you. I swear..._

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Thanks for reading, reviews are awesome.


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